In a shakeup at Riverside City Hall, Assistant City Manager Tom
DeSantis will move to “special assignment,” take vacation and then
leave his job, officials confirmed Friday.

Neither DeSantis nor City Manager Brad Hudson, who hired
DeSantis in mid-2005, explained the reason for the move. Hudson
announced the change in an e-mail but said he can’t discuss details
because it is a personnel issue.

It follows six months of turmoil for city officials that
included several abrupt top-level retirements at the Police
Department, an area DeSantis directly oversaw, and revelations
about his purchase of a police gun and use of untraceable license
plates.

As assistant city manager, DeSantis, 47, also oversaw the Fire
Department, parks, libraries, the Metropolitan Museum and internal
services such as the city fleet and human resources.

Hudson said DeSantis will help train other employees to take
over his responsibilities for the next couple of months, then use
some vacation time before leaving around the beginning of 2011.

DeSantis’ only comment was a brief written statement that said,
“I am extremely proud of my association with the City of Riverside.
The leadership and vision provided by the Mayor and Council,
swiftly put into action by extraordinarily talented department
heads, have made great things happen throughout the City. I have
thoroughly enjoyed working with Brad as a member of his management
team, and am confident in their continued success.”

Hudson said DeSantis’ departure was “by mutual agreement.”
Councilman Steve Adams expressed surprise at the news, and two
other council members suggested it was Hudson’s decision.

“It’s his prerogative and his responsibility to manage his staff
as he thinks is appropriate,” Councilman Mike Gardner said.

Before coming to Riverside, DeSantis spent more than a decade as
an administrator for Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and he
also served in the U.S. Air Force and held a seat on the Hemet
Unified School District board.

Adams said DeSantis has been a tremendous asset and a consummate
professional in his tenure with the city, and he and Councilman
Andy Melendrez described DeSantis as multitalented.

Hudson said the assistant city manager helped shape the budget,
labor relations and the Renaissance public works program.

“Maybe the biggest thing is he’s probably the driving force in
our operational efficiencies,” Hudson said. “We’ve been able to
decrease our budget but at the same time increase services to our
residents.”

RECENT TROUBLES

DeSantis also figured in several recent controversies.

He and Hudson bought Police Department guns in a 2005 sale later
determined to be illegal, and they and several council members
drove city cars with untraceable license plates. The state attorney
general’s office questioned the gun sale and plates, but no charges
were filed in either incident and officials seemed satisfied with
the city’s corrective measures.

Hudson said such incidents were unrelated to DeSantis’
departure.

Community activist Mary Figueroa, who has criticized the city’s
handling of police and administrative issues and called for Hudson
to be fired, said the news about DeSantis is a step in the right
direction, but she hopes and expects to see other personnel changes
in city management.

“I think that it’s a start, but in reality it’s kind of like
he’s falling on the sword for the rest of them,” she said. “The
bottom line is … somebody was giving the orders.”

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